Text of the FIT Kids Act

This bill was introduced in a previous session of Congress and was passed by the House on April 21, 2010 but was never passed by the Senate. The text of the bill below is as of Mar 18, 2009 (Introduced).

Mr. Kind (for
himself, Mr. Wamp,
Mr. Inslee,
Mrs. Davis of California, and
Mr. Holt) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Education and Labor

A BILL

To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 to improve standards for physical education.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids
Act or the FIT
Kids Act.

2.

Findings

Congress makes the following
findings:

(1)

Childhood obesity
has reached epidemic proportions in the United States.

(2)

Obesity-related
diseases cost the United States economy more than $117,000,000,000 every
year.

(3)

The prevalence of
overweight in children between the ages of 6 and 11 years increased from 4.0
percent in 1971–1974 to 17.5 percent in 2001–2004, and the prevalence of
overweight in adolescents between the ages of 12 and 19 years increased from
6.1 percent to 17.0 percent.

(4)

More than
9,000,000 children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 19 years are
considered overweight on the basis of being in the 95th percentile or higher of
BMI values in the 2000 CDC growth chart for the United States.

(5)

The Department of
Health and Human Services estimates that, by 2010, 20 percent of children and
youth in the United States will be obese.

(6)

Of all United
States deaths from major chronic disease, 23 percent are linked to sedentary
lifestyles that now begin at childhood.

(7)

Overweight
adolescents have a 70–80 percent chance of becoming overweight adults,
increasing their risk for chronic disease, disability, and death.

(8)

A
recent study showed that plaque build-up in the neck arteries of obese children
or those with high cholesterol is similar to those levels seen in middle-aged
adults.

(9)

A
decline in physical activity has contributed to the unprecedented epidemic of
childhood obesity.

(10)

The Physical
Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that children engage in 60 minutes
or more of physical activity each day.

(11)

In a 2005
Government Accountability Office report on key strategies to include in
programs designed to target childhood obesity, increasing physical
activity was identified as the most important component in any such
program.

(12)

Part of the
decline in physical activity has been in our Nation's schools, where physical
education programs have been cut back in the past 2 decades.

(13)

The national
standard for physical education frequency is 150 minutes per week in elementary
school and 225 minutes per week in middle school and high school.

(14)

Only 3.8 percent
of elementary schools, 7.9 percent of middle schools, and 2.1 percent of high
schools provide daily physical education or its equivalent for the entire
school year, and 22 percent of schools do not require students to take any
physical education at all.

(15)

Among children
ages 9 to 13, 61.5 percent do not participate in any organized physical
activity during out-of-school hours.

(16)

Regular physical
activity is associated with a healthier, longer life and a lower risk of
cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, and some
cancers.

(17)

Research suggests
a strong correlation between children’s fitness and their academic performance
as measured by grades in core subjects and standardized test scores.

(18)

Approximately 81
percent of adults believe daily physical education should be mandatory in
schools.

3.

Report
cards

Section 1111(h) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(h)) is
amended—

(1)

in paragraph
(1)(C)—

(A)

in clause (vii),
by striking and after the semicolon;

(B)

in clause (viii),
by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(C)

by adding at the
end the following:

(ix)

the amount of
time students spend in required physical education as measured against the
national standards of 150 minutes per week of required physical education for
students in elementary school and 225 minutes per week of required physical
education for students in middle school and secondary school;

(x)

the percentage of local educational
agencies in the State that have a required, age-appropriate physical education
curriculum for all students in elementary schools, middle schools, and
secondary schools that adheres to national guidelines adopted by the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and State standards;

(xi)

the percentage of elementary school and
secondary school physical education teachers who are State licensed or
certified as physical education teachers; and

(xii)

the percentage
of schools that have a School Health Council that includes parents, students,
representatives of the school food authority, representatives of the school
board, school administrators and members of the public and that meets monthly
to promote a healthy school
environment.

;

(2)

in
paragraph (2)(B)(i)—

(A)

in subclause (I),
by striking and after the semicolon;

(B)

in subclause (II),
by striking and after the semicolon; and

(C)

by adding at the end
the following:

(III)

the percentage
of elementary school and secondary school physical education teachers who are
State certified as physical education teachers; and

(IV)

the amount of square feet of indoor and
outdoor facilities that are primarily used for physical education and the
amount of square feet of indoor and outdoor facilities that are primarily used
for physical activity; and

;
and

(3)

in paragraph
(2)(B)(ii)—

(A)

in subclause (I),
by striking and after the semicolon;

(B)

in subclause (II),
by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(C)

by adding at the
end the following:

(III)

the percentage of elementary school and
secondary school physical education teachers who are State certified as
physical education teachers; and

(IV)

the number of meetings of a School Health
Council that includes parents, students, representatives of the school food
authority, representatives of the school board, school administrators and
members of the public during the school
year.

.

4.

Promoting
physical education and activity in school programs

(a)

Elementary and
secondary school counseling programs

Section 5421 of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7245) is
amended—

(1)

in subsection
(b)(2)(H), by inserting , which design and implementation shall take
into consideration the overall emotional and physical well-being of
students after the program; and

(2)

in subsection
(c)(2)(E), by inserting health, the importance of regular physical
activity, after relationships,.

(b)

Smaller learning
communities

Section 5441(b)
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7249(b)) is
amended by adding at the end the following:

(14)

How the local
educational agency will ensure that smaller learning communities support
healthy lifestyles including participation in physical education and physical
activity by all students and access to nutritious food and nutrition
education.

.

(c)

21st Century
Community Learning Centers

(1)

Purpose;
definitions

Section 4201 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7171) is amended—

in paragraph (12),
by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and;
and

(C)

by adding at the
end the following:

(13)

programs that
support a healthy, active lifestyle, including nutritional education and
regular, structured physical activity
programs.

.

(d)

Parental
involvement

Section 1118 of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 is amended—

(1)

in subsection
(a)(2)—

(A)

in subparagraph
(E), by striking and at the end;

(B)

by redesignating
subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G); and

(C)

by inserting after
subparagraph (E) the following:

(F)

involve and train
parents in encouraging and supporting a healthy and active lifestyle, including
increased physical activity during and outside the school day, and nutritional
eating habits in the home and at school;
and

;

(2)

in subsection
(d)—

(A)

in the subsection
heading, by inserting after Achievement the following:
by Healthy, Active
Students;

(B)

in the matter
preceding paragraph (1), by striking standards. and inserting
standards and to ensure that the children lead healthy, active
lives.; and

(C)

in paragraph
(1)—

(i)

by
inserting after supportive the following: ,
healthy,;

(ii)

by
striking ; and participating and inserting ;
participating; and

(iii)

by
inserting after extracurricular time the following: and
supporting their children in leading a healthy and active life, such as by
providing healthy meals and snacks, encouraging participation in physical
education, and sharing in physical activity outside the school
day;

(3)

in subsection
(e)—

(A)

by redesignating
paragraphs (6) through (14) as paragraphs (7) through (15), respectively;
and

(B)

by inserting after
paragraph (5) the following:

(6)(A)

shall ensure that parents
and teachers have information about the importance of a healthy lifestyle,
including nutritional eating habits, physical education, and physical activity,
to an effective learning environment; and

(B)

shall coordinate activities with
parents and teachers to ensure that children are provided with nutritious meals
and snacks, and have ample opportunities for physical education and physical
activity during and outside the school
day;

.

5.

Professional
development for teachers and principals

(a)

State
applications

Section 2112(b) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6612(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:

(13)

A description of
how the State educational agency will use funds under this part to provide
professional development that is directly related to the fields of physical
education and health education to physical education teachers and health
education teachers to ensure that children are leading healthy, active
lifestyles that are conducive to effective
learning.

.

(b)

State use of
funds

Section 2113(c)(6) of the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6613(c)(6)) is amended—

(1)

by striking
, in cases in which a State educational agency determines support to be
appropriate,; and